Friday, February 12, 2010

In response to Keeva's post today on her colony, I wanted to share a few pics of the rats I once had.

I will also copy her on the "Note: please, no comments about snakes, I will delete them. It’s not original and it’s not funny."

My first two: Ceres and Kaly. All of my girls were dumbo, meaning they had larger ears set lower on their heads. When these two curled up in my hands at the pet shop and Ceres (the masked) reached up and licked my thumb, they stole my heart.

Kaly outlived Ceres by a good 6 months, and was noticeably lonely after her sister died. She wasn't exactly pleased, however, when I brought home three new little girls: Adara, Blaze, and C'Nedra. I named my draenei priest after Adara (who is peeking out of the mason jar below).

Kaly spent most of her time hanging out with me rather than with the bouncy ratlets, and I didn't mind that. She was happy to snooze in my lap or in the oversized front pocket of a sweathshirt. Eventually, though, as rats are prone to tumors and myco and secondary infections in their short two-year expected lifespan, they one by one passed away, living on only in photos and memories.

I had set up a table with their cage on it right next to my computer desk, giving them free roam of the table (and the play boxes and toys I set on it) with easy access to my chair. Just watch any wires they may have access to, because they WILL chew on them, as well as any clothes you're wearing, and probably your chair, too. I hacked their cage together by hand and mixed together their food myself (both cheaper and healthier); I loved my rats dearly. Even my grandfather was charmed by them: he spent a good 20 minutes walking around my apartment with Kaly perched on his shoulder, pleased as can be. They're very social and intelligent creatures: their only downside is that they have such short lives.

Once the last of my rats, Blaze, passed away, I agreed with my husband that our next pet would be a dog. Unfortunately, our current landlord forbids us to get a dog... but we are looking at getting a house of our own this year.

~~If you are interested in getting your own pet rats, I highly recommend checking out the RMCA for more information.~~